Probable invasive aspergillosis in adult patient after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a case report

Universitatea de Stat de Medicină din Belarus, Minsk, Belarus, Spitalul Clinic Municipal nr. 9, Minsk, BelarusRezumat Introducere. Infecţiile sunt, deocamdată, cauza principală de deces a pacienţilor adulţi, beneficiari de transplant de celule stem hematopoietice (TCSH). Morbiditatea și mortalitatea de aspergiloză pulmonară invazivă rămâne importantă în rândul recipienţilor TCHS. Un diagnostic de aspergiloză invazivă nu este ușor de confirmat, iar comunicările de caz clinic referitoare la acest tip de infecţie la pacienţii adulţi, beneficiari de TCSH, sunt rareori publicate. Prezentare de caz. Este descris cazul clinic al unui pacient cu limfom Hodgkin, care, probabil, a dezvoltat o formă de aspergiloză pulmonară invazivă după un transplant autolog de celule stem hematopoietice. Infecţia fungică a fost tratată sistemic cu antifungice, dar aceasta s-a dovedit a fi rezistentă la voriconazol, totodată a cedat la administrarea caspofunginei. Discuţii. Acest caz prezintă date clinice interesante și imagini referitoare la diagnosticul aspergilozei pulmonare și indică posibilităţile existente de tratament antifungic. Concluzii. Incidenţa înaltă a aspergilozei invazive la pacienţii beneficiari de TCSH trebuie luată în consideraţie de către medicii care se ocupă de pacienţii transplantaţi. Chiar dacă izolarea prin cultură nu este întotdeauna posibilă, alte semne clinice și teste de laborator (galactomannanul, tomografia computerizată, microscopia sputei) pot fi utile pentru stabilirea diagnosticului de aspergiloză. Voriconazolul rămâne tratamentul de primă linie la pacienţii cu aspergiloză invazivă, cu posibilitatea utilizării echinocandinelor, în cazuri refractare. Abstract Introduction. Infections still stay one the leading causes of death in adult patients undergoing HSCT. Invasive pulmonary aspergillosis remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in HSCT recipients. Diagnosis of invasive aspergillosis is not easy to be proven, and clinical data regarding this infection in adult HSCT recipients are rarely published. Case presentation. In the present case report, we describe a patient with a Hodgkin’s lymphoma, who developed probable invasive pulmonary aspergillosis after tandem autologous HSCT. The fungal infection was treated by systemic antifungal therapy, but the patient was refractory to voriconazole, showing clinical efficacy on caspofungin. Discussion. This case presents interesting clinical data and images concerning aspergillosis diagnosis and shows the possibilities of antifungal treatment in patients with invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. Conclusion. High incidence of invasive aspergillosis in HSCT patients should be kept in mind of practical doctors dealing with transplant patients. Even though the culture isolation is not always possible, other clinical and laboratory tests (galactomannan, CT-scan, sputum microscopy) may be useful for diagnosis of aspergillosis. Voriconazole remains a treatment of choice for patients with invasive aspergillosis, with a possibility of using echinocandins in refractory cases

Biodiversity screening of gut microbiome during the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: data from the real-life clinical practice

Biodiversity of a gut microbiome has been shown as an important predictor of transplant-related outcomes and infections in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We conducted a single-center real-life clinical study and implemented a routine gut microbiome diversity monitoring across the course of allogeneic HSCT. Twelve patients (with ALL, AML, CML, biphenotypic leukemia and aplastic anemia) were enrolled in a stool samples collection protocol before the start of HSCT and during a 30-day post-transplant period. We have shown the feasibility of a gut microbiome monitoring in a real-life clinical setting and have proven that the alpha-biodiversity of the microbiome is significantly reduced with HSCT in comparison with the individual patient baseline level (Xdc 72.93; p < 0.001; multivariate Dirichlet analysis), what may be related to the antibiotic use and conditioning regimen. Overall, the gut microbiome biodiversity monitoring may be clinically used in a real-life HSCT setting to identify the high-risk groups for developing bloodstream infections and transplant-related negative outcomes

Diagnostic value of sepsis biomarkers in hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients in a condition of high prevalence of gram-negative pathogens

Objective/background: A decision about the need for antimicrobial therapy in a patient with febrile neutropenia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is often complicated because of the low frequency of culture isolation and reduced clinical manifestation of infection. Usefulness and choice of sepsis biomarkers to distinguish bloodstream infection (BSI) from other causes of febrile episode is still argued in HSCT recipients in modern epidemiological situations characterized by the emergence of highly resistant gram-negative microorganisms. In this study a comparative analysis of diagnostic values of presepsin, procalcitonin (PCT), and C-reactive protein (CRP) was performed as sepsis biomarkers in adult patients after HSCT in a condition of high prevalence of gram-negative pathogens. Methods: A prospective observational clinical study was performed at the Center of Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation in Minsk, Republic of Belarus. The biomarkers (presepsin, PCT, and CRP) were assessed in a 4-hour period after the onset of febrile neutropenia episode in adult patients after HSCT. Microbiologically-confirmed BSI caused by a gram-negative pathogen was set as a primary outcome. Results: Clinical and laboratory data were analyzed in 52 neutropenic patients after HSCT aged 18–79 years. Out of the biomarkers assessed, the best diagnostic value was shown in presepsin (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.889, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.644–0.987, p < .0001) with 75% sensitivity and 100% specificity, then in PCT (AUC: 0.741, 95% CI: 0.573–0.869, p = .0037) with 62% sensitivity and 88% specificity. The optimal cut-off value for CRP was set as 165 mg/L, while it had an average diagnostic value (AUC: 0.707, 95% CI: 0.564–0.825, p = .0049) with low sensitivity (40%) and should not be routinely recommended as a biomarker in adult patients with suspected BSI after HSCT. Conclusion: Presepsin may be recommended in adult patients with suspected gram-negative BSI after HSCT as a possible additional supplementary test with a cut-off value of 218 pg/mL. PCT is inferior to presepsin in terms of sensitivity and specificity, but still shows a good quality of diagnostic value with an optimal cut-off value of 1.5 ng/mL. CRP showed an average diagnostic value with low sensitivity (40%) and should not be routinely recommended as a biomarker in adult patients with suspected BSI after HSCT in a condition of high prevalence of gram-negative pathogens. Keywords: Bloodstream infections, C-reactive protein, Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, Presepsin, Procalcitoni